Thursday 1 December 2005

AIDS

For most of us in Australia, World AIDS Day will pass unnoticed in a fairly unremarkable way. Maybe reading this weblog will pause you to stop and think just a little more.
One of the critical points in my understanding of this issue came in the late 80s when Keith Rayner came back from the world conference of Anglican Bishops (held every 10 years in England). Asked what was the most serious problem facing the world at this time he said...We were told that when we meet again in 1998 the world will be dealing with a tragedy caused by AIDS which the world has never known on that scale.
One would have to say that that prophecy is true, though we in Cocoon Australia are pretty well shielded.
My question is, here we are almost another 10 years down that same track and what has been done in the last decade to address this issue? One can only imagine that if it were mainland America where the pandemic was at its height then billions more dollars would have been poured into research.
But it isn't, it's Africa and Asia.
There are no votes for Western politicians in addressing issues in the Third World.
The following graphic is pretty tame(and 2 years out of date) but tells a horrifying story:


Gays
Likewise it has often been noted that there are no votes in gays either. Despite the loudness of their presence, majority culture is simply not interested.

If the New Orleans experience tells us anything it is that if you don't have the influence then you don't get the help.
It is a cynical and sad truth for us to remember on this World AIDS Day.



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been working at some mines in Africa recently. Ghana is not so bad - the HIV rate there is around 5%. However, at the diamond mine in Botswana (Orapa), the HIV rate among the black work-force is approaching 70% (that's not a typo) and the disease has entered a new phase. The percentage affected is not increasing because the ones infected earlier on are now developing full-blown AIDS and dying, so a statis has been reached where the number of new infections is balanced by the number dying of the disease. I understand the same is happening in some parts of SA. The disease is not restricted to the male work-force. Many women in the area around the mine have turned to prostitution in order to survive (often because their husbands have already succumbed to the disease), and the infection rate in those women and in their children is also on the rise.

Anonymous said...

Ooops. For "statis" read 'stasis".

Stephan Clark said...

Thanks for your comments Trevor. The horror stories are indeed horrible, and the historical impact will only be apparent in a century I suppose.
But, for me, I think the solution to the AIDS pandemic is that we need to transcend narrow prejudices and affirm our common humanity.
It is madnesss to shut our eyes because this is a "gay diosease"....which the African experience shows is clearly not the case.
It is ridiculous to some how overlook that this is a world issue and not just an African or Asian issue.
Both of these prejudices are clearly very short sighted.
And in this business
"short sighted"="death"